The Fine Line Between Love and Hate
by Unstable Firestarter
Summary: Max is a demon hunter working for Angel. Her brother was killed by Wolfram & Hart three years ago, but now he's been brought back, and with a bit of genetic tweaking, to kill everyone at Angel Inc. Lindsey/OC.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: none of the characters of Angel belong to me, only Max and Seth, and the idea.

* * *

**Prologue**

"Run when I say."

"Seth, no! Don't be crazy, they're-!"

He wasn't listening to her. He pushed her out of the way and started to run full tilt at the gunman.

"Seth!" she shouted as a single gunshot echoed through the darkness.

His blood speckled her face as she stood there, stunned for a moment. Then the teenage boy fell, and she shouted his name again, for one second knowing nothing other then the fact that she had to go to him, that he needed her now more then ever. She dropped to her knees beside him as thunder rumbled.

"Seth? Can you hear me? Seth, it's me, Sis."

No reaction.

He lay on his back, beautiful sky blue eyes staring but unseeing. No, no, not this. She heard Seth's shooter cock his gun, and emotion flared inside of her. Rising to one knee, she pulled her long dagger from her boot and whirled, throwing the dagger. With perfect aim, the blade went through his throat, and with a gurgling sound, he crumpled to the ground. Sinking down again, she turned back to her brother. Even though he was wearing a black shirt, she could see the blood spreading from the bullet hole dead center in his chest.

"Seth? Come on, kiddo," she said softly, taking him by the shoulders and shaking him lightly. "Seth?" she whispered, smoothing his golden blonde hair back from his face as tears stung her eyes.

When the stubborn part of her finally realized that he wasn't going to answer her, she lowered her face to his chest, her breath catching in her throat. There was only the soft beginning of rain and footsteps to interrupt her silent sobbing.

"Maxamelia," said a quiet voice from behind her. A low, gravely voice with a faint hint of a southern accent. A voice she knew.

She lifted her head slightly and turned it slightly to the side to show that she'd heard him.

"Maxamelia," he said again, "I'm sorry about your brother."

"Sorry?" she repeated, rising as her emotions exploded into a tornado that threatened to take everything else with it, "You're _sorry_?-" she turned to him, "If you're so goddamn _sorry_, why didn't you tell me sooner that they were after him?"

"I couldn't," he said as she took him by the neck and started pushing him back, almost stepping on his feet, she was so close to him.

"You _couldn't_?" she repeated, her tornado of emotions shifting mostly to grieving pain and blame. She kept pushing him until he hit the telephone pole that had been behind him.

"If I did, they would've killed me," he said, "I wanted to, trust me."

The rain was plastering the bangs of her pixie-cut hair to her forehead, "I did!" she said, her voice rising, "And now Seth's……dead." Fresh tears stung her eyes again, blurring her vision.

"I didn't have anything to do with this, so why are you so mad at me?" he said, rain dripping down his face.

"You knew!" she said accusingly, fingers tightening around his neck, "You _knew_ what they were doing!"

Rain water dripped from his hair into his blue eyes as he raised his hands to her wrists to try to break her grip on his neck, but fury and adrenaline had made her stronger, and yet left her cold and hollow.

"Yes, but strangling me won't solve anything," he said, yet had a feeling she really wouldn't. Or he hoped.

"Says who?" she shot back, her eyes full of fury, but empty of _her_. "Did you know why they were after him too?"

"No," he said as lightning flashed.

"Bull," she said, tightening her fingers again.

"Why the hell would I lie to you at a time like this?" he managed to say.

She didn't reply, but kept gazing into his eyes, as if searching for the truth. Then she released him, pulling her wrists from his hands. But there had been Seth's blood on her hands when she'd grabbed him, and so now there were bloody handprints on his neck. She turned away, and for a moment, she was silent.

"Angel wants you gone. So do the others," she said, walking over to retrieve her dagger from the body of Seth's murderer, "…And right now, I agree with them." She couldn't look at him, and not because of the tears streaming down her face; they mingled with the rain. "I don't want to see you again, Lindsey," she said, half looking back over her shoulder, "I'm sorry."

There was a moment of silence. Then she heard him walking up behind her.

"Goodbye, Maxamelia," he said, then dropped his voice to almost a whisper, "And I am sorry about your brother." He sounded sorry. Sounded hurt too.

She swallowed hard, but still refused to look at him. _She couldn't_. As she heard him start to walk away, she fingered the dog tag she wore. She took hold of it and tugged hard, snapping the clasp. She couldn't look at it either; it had his name on it. She let it slid from her fingers and fall into the night as she sank to her knees beside Seth's body.

------------------------------------

She sat curled up on her bed in her room at Angel Investigations. She hugged her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. She couldn't count how many days had passed since……that night. There was a soft knock on the door. She raised her eyes, but made no other movement.

"Max?" said a voice on the other side of the door. "Maxamelia? It's me, Angel."

'_Of course it is.'_

She didn't say anything.

"Max?" a pause, "Can I come in?"

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Alright," she said.

The door opened and he tentatively stepped in. "How are you?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

"So-so," she said softly. Watching him slowly walk over to where she sat, she thought he looked uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your brother," he said.

'_Everyone's sorry, I don't want pity.'_

"Nothing can justify…why they killed him."

'_You got that right.'_

"And I know that nothing I can say or do will make your pain go away, because it never goes away," he said, sitting down next to her on the bed.

She looked up at him, but didn't look him in the eye.

"You can't let yourself be buried by your pain, because it's a long way out."

'_Your pain won't go away, but control it, don't let it control you and turn you into a grieving monster or a catatonic,' _she translated in her mind, slowly raising her eyes to meet his gaze. She was quiet a moment.

"He was so sweet, so innocent," she said softly, "And that night, all he worried about was protecting me," she stopped, her breath hitching in her chest. She blinked back her tears. "And Lindsey! He didn't tell me! I trusted him-he knew all along and didn't tell me-" she ranted like this for a few moments, and he let her.

"I know you and him were…close," he said when she was done.

She hadn't told him about her and Lindsey until after…that night.

"But he betrayed you. He betrayed all of us," he said, "He's not really a friend." He paused, looking at her as if to make sure he wasn't saying the wrong thing, "He's…not worth it."

'_Not worth it? Not worth my tears or my fury? Not worth my…heartbreak?'_

"I don't miss him," she lied, "I think I would kill him if I saw him again." That was the truth, and it scared her.

Her tears were starting again, and she couldn't hold them back any longer. Angel put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her, and she slid closer, putting both her arms around him and hugging him tightly. A little surprised, he hugged her back. She didn't want to let go; she was afraid if she did, she would drift away and drown. He was her anchor.


	2. The Calling

Chapter One

The Calling

(About Three Years later)

In a dark alley in Los Angeles, a battle was taking place; a young woman with long, white-blonde hair was fighting a green, slimy demon. She swung the double-bladed battle axe she held, and chopped off half the demon's left arm. It hissed in pain, baring its needle teeth. As it raised its remaining arm, extending its razor claws, she spun, swinging the axe around. A split second before she loped its head off, it managed to get her with its claws, raking three bloody tracks across her upper arm. The headless demon fell, and she stepped back, looking at her injured arm. Thin rivulets of blood were already running down to her elbow.

"Max!" a voice at the mouth of the alley said.

She turned, resting the long wooden shaft of the axe handle on her shoulder. "Hey, A," she said, "Demon problem's taken care of."

"So I see," he said, walking towards her. Then he saw her wound. "Your arm," he said, reaching out a hand to her.

"I'm fine," she said, waving his hand away.

'_Don't treat me like a child.'_

"Alright," Angel said reluctantly, pulling his hand back.

She knew that he cared deeply about her, and she had liked him a lot….The key word; Had.

Back at Angel Investigations, up in her room, Max slept. Her left arm was neatly wrapped in white bandages where the demon had attacked her. She rolled over, moaning softly. She was dreaming, a bitter-sweet dream that would soon turn.

'_It was night, raining outside; she could hear the drops hitting the window panes. They were both wet from running through the rain to get here. She looked out the window, into the night, eyes searching._

"_I don't think they followed us," she heard herself say._

_The response was softly spoken words from across the room._

_She turned, walked over to where he was and sat down beside him on the couch that was in front of the crackling fireplace. Going through life and death situations does something to people. Must, because they kissed. A slow, shy kiss that made her head spin and caused a tingle that started in her lips and went all the way to her toes._

_And suddenly, it all changed. It was still raining, but she was on her knees beside Seth's body. She was crying, and it felt like the night was spinning. She knew he was behind her, and she stood. She turned and saw him standing there. Then she saw the gun that he held, aimed straight for her heart. She wasn't afraid. She looked him in the eye, and spread her arms, the gesture saying; 'go ahead'. What other way to end it then this? To join her brother. To die at the hands of her former best friend just as he had?_

"_Good-bye, Maxamelia."_

_And then he pulled the trigger._

_She felt an explosion of pain. She fell…'_

Max awoke breathing hard and with his name on her lips. _Lindsey_. She put a hand over her heart, swearing the pain she felt was real and not just from her dream. Her hand trembled as she raised it to her face. _Lindsey_. She was surprised to find that tears had made silent tracks down her face. That hadn't been just part of her dream either. She sat up and looked at her alarm clock. Five-thirty. Almost sunup. She groaned, but knew she wouldn't get back to sleep anyway. _Lindsey_.

She ended up downstairs in the training room where she took out her emotions from her dream by punching and kicking the hell out of a punching bag.

"It's early," a voice said.

She paused, turning. "It's late for you, isn't it?" she said.

"Couldn't sleep?" Angel asked her from the doorway.

"No," Max said with a sigh, returning to beating the punching bag. "Damn him, from wherever the hell he is, he still interrupts my sleep!"

"…Lindsey?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, angry.

She told him her dream. Well, most of it-he didn't know that she and Lindsey had…kissed. And she wasn't about to tell him. When she concluded her dream, she paused, looking up.

'_Shot through the heart-That's what it felt like that night; heartbroken and betrayed. Damn him.'_

Angel was quiet, and she returned again to beating the stuffing out of the punching bag.

"You have to let it go…" he said.

'_Let it go? Let it go? I can't. It's his fault that the last thing I had was taken from me. Sure, I have money, and a mansion, and all that other crap, but it can never replace Seth.'_

"Sure, whatever," is what she said.

"Max." he said.

"What, A?" she said, stopping and turning to him, hand on her hip.

He gazed at her a moment, knowing he wasn't going to get through to her, and shook his head. "Nothing," he said, turning and walking away.


	3. Honey and Poison

Chapter Two

Honey And Poison

The club was called Poison.

Wes had wanted her to check it out for any demon and/or vampire activity. So that's what Max did. At first. Until she'd become bored. Now she was sitting at the bar in the back, staring down into her drink. Her green eyes-lighter outside that grew dark around the pupils-were reflected in the surface.

As she was thinking to herself that after she finished her drink, she'd join the dancing crowd, some one walked up and sat down beside her. As he told the bartender what he wanted to drink, Max looked over at him. He had soft-looking brown hair that went to his shoulders. He was wearing a short sleeved shirt, and she could see how well muscled his arms were.

'_God, he **must** work out.'_

He also must have noticed that she was watching him, because he turned his head to look at her. Her heart did a weird flutter when she saw his blue eyes-beautiful blue eyes. Familiar eyes? Nah, she'd seen lots of guys with beautiful blue eyes. But not quite like his.

"Hello," he said, gazing at her with those piercing eyes.

"Hey," Max replied.

"How're you?"

"Alright," she said, trying for a casual shrug.

'_Keep cool girl. Just because even his voice is sexy…'_

The bartender came with his drink, and set it on the counter in front of him.

"I haven't seen you here before," Max said, taking a sip of her own drink.

He smiled a moment-

'_God, he's got a cute smile'_

-as if that were funny. "I'm new to L.A." he said.

The more he talked, the more she found his voice familiar, but she couldn't place it.

'_I can show you around.'_

"Oh, where from?" She asked curiously.

"All over," was his reply.

Had she met him before? No, couldn't have, he said he just got here.

"I see, I've lived here my whole life," she said.

"I bet you have a boyfriend then," he said.

She blinked.

'_No, wanna be mine?'_

"Why's that?" She asked, starting to take another sip of her drink. His eyes were familiar.

"Because you're so beautiful."

She almost choked on her drink, her face flushing. "Oh come one, be serious," she said when she could breathe again.

'_He thinks I'm beautiful!'_

"Well?" he said, appearing amused by her reaction.

"No, I don't," she said, still blushing.

'_Hell, the only guys I know are A, Wes, Gunn, Conner, and Groo. And even though A's head-over-heels for me, we both know it can't happen.'_ God, was she babbling to herself in her mind again? _'It happens when I'm around hot guys.'_

"Really?" he said, though didn't sound surprised at all.

"Really," she said. God, who was he? "I know I should've asked earlier, but what's your name?"

He looked at her, kind of smirked-

'_Sexy!'_

-and turned his gaze to his drink.

"What?" she said, "What'd I say?"

"You forgot me, Maxamelia?" he said, looking back at her.

For a moment, she froze, and the hair on the back of her neck stood up.

'_Oh god…'_

She stood up so fast that the bar stool she had been sitting on tipped over and fell with a crash. The bartender and people sitting close to them turned and looked up to see what'd happened. She wasn't sure what happened next, whether she was reaching out to grab him or hit him, but whichever it was, he caught her wrist, stopping her.

'_How the HELL could I have not recognized him?'_

Max moved to twist her arm out of his grip-it had worked almost every time before, but not now. He was stronger. She reached out her other hand to free herself, but he grabbed her by that wrist too. He stood to face her, pulling her close to him, close enough for them to talk without everyone else around hearing as well.

"What the hell are you doing back here?" she hissed, her heart racing as she looked up at him.

"Nice to see you too," Lindsey said.

"I said I didn't want to see you again. Ever." She said, trying to pull away.

"I remember. You haven't changed at all, Maxamelia," he said, not letting go of her wrists.

'_Stop calling me that!'_

"It's just Max now," she said, eyes full of fire, "And it seems we've both changed a hell of a lot, Linds." If she remembered correctly, he hated it when she called him that. She saw a look of recognition flit through his eyes.

"Well, one thing hasn't changed; you're still pissed at me," he said.

"Hell yeah," Max said angrily, trying to break his grip, "Let me go!"

"If you don't try to hit me," he replied coolly.

'_Grrr.'_

"I can't make any promises," she said, thinking to herself that he _had_ changed a lot. Last she'd seen him, he'd been a skinny, kind-of wimpy lawyer. Now, kind-of wimp no more, obviously. And his shoulders were broader.

"Then why don't you sit down until you can?" Lindsey said, sidestepping slightly and flipping her bar stool upright with one foot. After that, he easily pushed her back until she sat down with a thump. She glared at him.

'_Damn you…'_

She wanted so badly to just let loose and punch him good, but not only would that have caused a commotion, she was incapable. She hated being pushed around. He shifted his grip, and was able to hold both her wrists in one hand, and reach for his drink with the other.

'_Hmmm….arrogant jerk…'_

Raising an eyebrow, she waited a second for just the right moment, than brought the heel of her boot down hard on his foot. _He_ almost choked on his drink this time, and his grip loosened. She pulled her wrists free and allowed herself a smug smirk as he turned to give her a dirty look.

"What?" she said with mock innocence, "You said no _hitting_, not, no _stomping_."

He started to reply, but screams and crashes from the front of the club interrupted him.

She stood, and they both turned.

"What now?" she muttered.

As the crowd quickly thinned out, she saw a bunch of vampires…and a couple of demons? That was odd. They usually didn't work together. She sighed as they noticed her and Lindsey, the only two people who weren't running and screaming.

'_This should be good.'_

One vampire, a tall male, pushed aside the woman he'd been holding and started for Max. "Come on little girl, let's have some fun," he said.

She raised an eyebrow. "Little? I don't think so, and I'm going to be the only one having fun." She said.

The vampire just laughed. She started walking towards him, and he raised an arm to grab her. She ducked his arm, and got him through the heart with the stake that she'd had in the back of her waistband. The other vampires looked at each other.

"Get her!"

And they all came at her at once. She easily dusted the first one, but soon found herself out numbered; seven (nine counting the demons) to one. No, make that two; she looked over and saw Lindsey fighting beside her.

'_Why? They only came after me, so why should he care? Unless…'_

No. She didn't want to think that. She angrily kicked a vampire, than suddenly saw one of the demons coming up behind her. She turned, but not fast enough; the demon punched her hard in the stomach, taking her breath away. Then it punched her in the face, knocking her back off her feet. She hit the floor hard, breathless. She looked up. Seeing the demon towering over her, she could only brace herself for whatever might come next. But what she expected never came. The demon's head suddenly went rolling, and she blinked in surprise as the rest of it fell.

'_What the…?'_

Then she saw Lindsey standing there, holding a sword. He held out a hand to her, to help her up. She looked at him, picked up her stake, which had fallen from her hand, and ignored his offer, standing by herself. She wondered where he'd gotten the sword.

The vampire she'd kicked came at her again, and she rammed the stake through his chest, and he crumbled into dust. As she fought the next vampire, she cast a sideways glance at Lindsey. He'd probably just saved her life, and for some reason, that made her mad. The rest of the fight didn't last long. But as Max stood there, looking around the club, she saw movement behind her. As she started to turn, something struck her in the back of the head, and she fell, her world turning black.

"Sorry, Max," Lindsey said, looking down at her. Oddly enough, he sounded sincere.

Then he turned and walked out of the now deserted club.

Max blinked, stirring slowly. She didn't move for a moment as she tried to figure out what had happened. Then she groaned softly and slowly sat up. She put a hand to the back of her head, and bet that later she'd have a bump there. She looked around, wondering how long she'd been out, and saw that the club was empty except for her and the two dead demons. She stood, brushing ash from her cloths, and heard sirens in the distance. Her head was starting to clear as she bent to retrieve her stake. Standing straight again, she realized what must have happened.

"Damn him," she muttered, walking out of the club.


	4. Dreaming of Seth

Chapter Three

Dreaming Of Seth

Max walked through the front doors of Angel Investigations, and Wes looked up from the ancient book he'd been studying.

"Well-" he started.

"If that's 'well' for 'well, how did it go', there were vampires. And demons," Max said, walking towards him, "And it it's 'well' for 'well, how are you', the answer's _sore_."

She got close enough for him to see the bruise on her cheek, and the way she had a hand on her stomach.

He was quiet a moment. "But you're alright?"

"Yeah," she sighed, "And they're dead. The vampires and demons, I mean."

'_Why aren't I telling him about Lindsey?'_

"Wes," Max started, then paused.

He looked at her, waiting. He saw the troubled expression in her eyes.

"…There's something else," she started again.

"What, no 'welcome back'?" said a British voice from behind her.

She froze for a moment; she hadn't heard the doors open or close. Then she turned, already knowing who it was. Her eyes suddenly brightened.

"Spike!" She said, nearly _running_ to him and throwing her arms around him, almost knocking the vampire off his feet.

He'd been away for nearly a month, she couldn't remember why.

As Wesley watched the two greet each other, he wondered what Max had been about to tell him.

Max sat up in bed, breathing hard. She swore she could hear a gunshot ringing in her ears, and the phantom pain in her heart was back. It was just a dream; so why wouldn't it stop? She lay back down and stared at the ceiling. Her heart was racing, and she put a hand over it. Just as she was starting to calm down, there was a distinct sound of breaking glass from downstairs. Her eyes widened, and she sat up. She threw back the covers and stood. By the time she got downstairs, she wasn't the first one there. Angel held a rock in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. He and Spike looked up as she came downstairs.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Angel didn't say anything. He seemed troubled by something.

"What?" Max said, a little worried, as she walked closer.

"It's for you, luv," Spike said quietly.

She looked at him, not liking the way he said it; what was wrong?

Still without speaking, Angel handed her the piece of paper.

'_Am I still always and forever in your heart, Maxy?'_

She froze. Oh god…Maxy? That was what…_he_ used to call her. And it was Seth's handwriting too…She suddenly felt dizzy, and couldn't stand any longer.

"…Maxy…is what Seth used to call me," she said faintly.

She was sitting on the couch in the back room, and Spike was next to her, with an arm around her shoulders. Angel sat in a chair across from them. He was jealous of their closeness as friends, and how close they were right now. But he knew now wasn't the time.

"But Seth's…" he started.

"I know," Max said, "But…it's his handwriting, impossible as it sounds." Her eyes were wide, some where between blank and being tidal pools of emotion.

"You're sure?" Spike said.

'_Sure that it's my dead brother's handwriting? Of course.'_

"Positive," she said.

They were all quiet a moment.

"What now?" she asked, looking up.

"Now, you should get back to sleep, and we can figure this out in the morning," Angel said.

She started to protest, then stopped. "Alright," she said with a sigh.

Max didn't need to 'figure this out', she knew who was behind this-or who it had to be-she just had to find him.

When day came, there was no sun; the sky was overcast, and it rained off and on through the morning. By late afternoon, she couldn't wait around any longer while the others 'worked' on it. When no one was paying attention, she slipped out. She wasn't sure how or where she was going to find him, but she at least knew where she was going to start; around the apartment building where he'd used to live.

No luck. But as she was walking down the street away from there, some one caught her eye. A man; brown hair. Wearing a 'cowboy' style shirt, with jeans, boots. Enough to perk her interest. He was walking farther down the street. Same direction as her, so she walked a little faster, trying not to lose sight of him in the crowd. It was starting to rain again too.

'_Great-not.'_

Then she blinked, and couldn't see him. She stopped a moment, looking around. She spotted him again-it had to be him-as he turned down an alley. Max followed. As she rounded the bend, she saw him standing about halfway into the alley.

"You!" she said, eyes dark, starting towards him.

"What about me?" he said, watching her.

"Why the Hell did you have to knock me out last night?" Max demanded.

When she was close enough, she raised a fist. But Lindsey seemed to have expected this, because he took her by both wrists, spun her around, and pushed her back against the fire escape. Effectively stopping her from hitting him.

"You don't seem very grateful, seeing that I saved your life. Maybe I should've just let that demon kill you," he said, looking down into her eyes, "At least then you would've stopped trying to kill _me_."

"Grateful?" she repeated, "You're telling me I should be _grateful_, after your supposed 'message from Seth'?"

As he stepped back from her, she suddenly realized that, while they'd been talking, he'd tied her hands together to the fire escape. And it was tied good too.

"Untie me!" she said on instinct.

'_Yeah, like he's really going to.'_

"No," Lindsey said, "You're going to listen to me. I didn't send that 'message' to you. Seth did."

"That-that's impossible! Seth's dead!" Max said.

He shook his head, "He's…alive. In a way."

She frowned, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth. "In a way? What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously.

He didn't reply for a moment. "He's not alive, but he's not dead."

She blinked. "Undead?" she said slowly.

'_Like a vampire?'_

"Not even that," he said, "They've made him into something new entirely."

"They?" she repeated, her heart starting to pound faster then it already was.

He just looked at her. "You know," he said.

And she did. "Wolfram & Hart?" she said, anger stirring within her.

"Who else," Lindsey said.

'_Do I believe him? I guess I do…'_

"You knew that they were-" she started.

"_After_ you ran me out of town," he said.

Max gazed at him for a moment, trying to tell if he was lying or not. "It that why you came back?" she said slowly, "Because of…him?"

"Yeah," he said, "'He's' here to kill the High and Mighty Angel-" he rolled his eyes- "Which I could care less about," he paused, and when he continued, his voice was quieter, "And you, which I do care about." He looked into her eyes, searching to see if that meant anything to her.

She was quiet, and looked away for a moment. "Why would he be after me?" she said, her tone different then before, calmer maybe?

He started to reply, but then stopped, looking from one end of the alley to the other. "Damn," he said.

"What?" Max said, looking around as well. She didn't see anything.

"_He's_ coming," he said simply, starting to untie her.

"Who, Seth?" she said, surprised, "How do you know?"

He looked down at her, "By the time I explain, we'll both be dead, so just trust me on this." He took her by the arm and started pulling her through the alley, back the way they'd came.

"Maxy?" said a voice. A voice that chilled her down to her bones.

Time seemed to slow down as she turned her head to look back over her shoulder. And there he was, standing at the other end of the alley. The rain had made his golden hair darker.

"Seth?" she breathed, almost tripping.

"Come on!" Lindsey said in her ear.

"You can run," Seth started.

'_But you can't hide.'_

And then suddenly, everything exploded around her. Chunks of asphalt rained down on them as the repercussion wave knocked her off her feet and sent her flying forward. She tried to catch herself, but ended up landing awkwardly on her arm. She lat still.

Lindsey crouched beside Max, glancing back into the cloud of soot, ash, and dust that was rising in the air.

"Max?" he said quietly. He put a hand on her shoulder and rolled her over. Blood was trickling from her nose-it was probably broken, her arm too, by the look of it, or maybe just dislocated. And she was out cold.

'_Max was standing in a room. A familiar room that she just couldn't place. The curtains were open on the large picture window, and sunlight was streaming in. She was confused though, where was she? What happened to all the explosions?_

"_You're dreaming," said a voice behind her._

_She turned, realizing that everything looked kind of fuzzy. She eyed him suspiciously. "If I'm dreaming, what are you doing here?" she said, "You're not going to try to kill me, are you?"_

"_Kill you? After I went through the trouble of saving you _twice_?" Lindsey said, "I don't think so."_

"_Alright, then what are you doing here?" she asked._

"_You're asking me? This is your dream," he said._

_All of a sudden, there was a banging on the closed door to the room._

_They turned._

"_You know who it is," he said._

"_Seth."_

"_You can't let him in," he said._

"_Why not?" She ask-'_

"Max? Max, wake up."

Jerking awake, she opened her eyes. She tried to move, and that resulted in pain lancing through her right arm.

"Ow," she muttered, "What happened?" Her nose hurt too.

"You were knocked out," Lindsey said.

She blinked again. She was lying on a couch. She sat up, looking at him. "What happened to my arm?"

'_Yeah, like he knows everything.'_

"Dislocated it, when you fell," he said. "If you promise not to hit, kick, bite, or stab me, I'll fix it for you."

She looked at him for a moment, than sighed. "Just do it," she said.

'_She was back in the same room. He was there. And the banging was echoing through the room. She started to reach for the door knob, but he stopped her._

"_You can't let him in," Lindsey said._

"_Why not, this is just a dream, isn't it?" Max said, puzzled._

_The room was fuzzy, bright from the sunlight streaming in through the window._

"_He can still hurt you," he said._

"_What?" she said, drawing back from the door._

"_Mentally, not physically," he said._

_She frowned, "Mentally?" she repeated._

_His reply was interrupted by the door beginning to crack and splinter. He took her by the arm and pulled her away from the door as he backed up._

"…_But you can't hide, Maxy," said a voice from the other side of the door._

_They backed up to the window as the door suddenly flew off its hinges and landed across the room with a bang. Seth stood there, framed in light. His golden hair was still damp, and there was something _wrong_ with his eyes, with his face. He raised a hand, sent them both flying back with some sort of force wave. They crashed through the window, Lindsey holding Max close to protect her from the flying glass. They fell a story, landing on the sweeping green lawn._

"It's called the Grim Reaper Project."

_Shards of glass landed all around them, and suddenly, the sun wasn't shining anymore-'_


	5. Sunken Surprise

Chapter Five

Sunken Surprise

"Max! Are you…" he stopped short when he saw Lindsey. "Who're you?"

Max's eyes widened slightly, but Lindsey reacted coolly.

"I'm Ryan, Max's cousin from Oklahoma," he said, standing and extending his hand to Connor.

'_I don't have a cousin in Oklahoma.'_

'_Just go with it.'_

'_Suuuure.'_

"…Sure," Connor said, going over to Max. "What happened?" he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright?" she countered

"Not really," he said.

"Than the answer is no, I'm not alright," Max said.

"What happened? We found Angel's car, well, what's left of it," Connor said.

"Seth."

"Oh." He was quiet for a moment. "What about…him?" he nodded his head towards Lindsey.

"You doubt Cousin Ryan?"

"You never mentioned him," Connor said.

"He's been in Oklahoma."

"Right. So how did he manage to end up here, now?" he said turning.

"Luck?" Lindsey/Ryan replied.

After Connor left, they played checkers. Of which Max kept horribly losing and became bored of by noon. Then they played two-handed solitaire. After a while, she noticed that he kept winning.

"Hey, you're cheating," she said suddenly in the middle of their forth game.

"No I'm not," he said.

"Yes you are," she accused.

"How?"

"I…don't know," she admitted.

"Then why do you think I'm cheating?" Lindsey said.

"You've won three games in a row," she said.

"Maybe its just luck," he said.

"It's not luck."

"Prove it."

She watched him as he leaned back in the chair. She narrowed her eyes. He knew she knew she couldn't prove it. "Grrr!" she said, more of a word then a sound.

He laughed, and tingles ran up her spine.

"Why don't we play Black Jack instead?" she said.

"Alright."

"She's alright?" Angel said.

"Not if you ask her, but yeah," Connor said.

Angel nodded, "Did she say what happened?"

"Something about Seth."

"That's it?"

"There was some one there," Connor said.

"Who?" Angel asked with a frown.

"Her cousin? From Oklahoma?" he replied.

"She doesn't have a cousin. And definitely not a cousin in Oklahoma." Angel said.

Evening. The sun was sinking. She could see it through the blinds on the big window. She knew Angel would come as soon as it was night. And Connor had probably told him about 'Cousin Ryan.' She knew he wouldn't believe that. She was lost in her own thoughts when Lindsey stood and came over to the bedside.

She blinked when he kissed her on the forehead and said, "I'll be right back."

She gazed after him as he walked out, wanting to say something but finding that she had no voice. So she just lay there, staring up at the ceiling.

When Lindsey was walking back to Max's room, he saw Angel coming down the other hallway. He backtracked, ducking back into the room he'd come out of.

Max looked over when the door opened. She was expecting it to be Lindsey, but instead it was Angel. Her eyes widened slightly. "Angel!"

"Max. I-I came as soon as I could-after I heard…" he said, coming over to the bedside and taking her hand-the one that wasn't in a cast. "What happened-?"

'_I've heard that question so many times toady.'_

"-From the condition my car's in, it seemed you're lucky to be alive."

"It was Seth. I hit him-and it was like hitting a brick wall-the car flipped-I was so scared," she said all in a rush. Tears coming to her eyes. She blinked them back.

He wanted to hold her, to tell her that everything was alright. But he couldn't. "How did you get out?" he asked her after a moment.

"I don't remember," she said honestly.

"What was so important that you took my car in the first place?" he asked.

She didn't answer. She looked away.

He was quiet for a moment. "How's your cousin?"

She looked at him, her heart skipping a beat.

"You told me you didn't have any cousins," Angel said softly, "Who is he?"

She just gazed at him a moment. "Just an old friend," she said simply.

He was silent.

She knew he was still suspicious, but he didn't press the subject. "Did you guys find out anything more about the Grim Reaper Project?" she asked after a long moment of silence.

"We were too busy worrying about you," he replied, "Spike almost paced a hole in the carpets, and if Connor hadn't found you when he did…I think he would've killed some one."

She didn't fail to hear the bitter jealousy in his voice. "And what about you, Mr. Jealous?" she said.

"Jealous? Me?" he repeated, sounding surprised, "I'm not jealous!"

"Oh please," she sighed, looking to the window.

Silence.

"I'm tired. You should leave. I'll be fine," she said about an hour later.

"I'll stay," he offered.

'_But…'_

"I don't want you to stay," Max said flatly.

He blinked. "A-alright," he said, sounding hurt. He stood.

She saw it in his eyes too. "Angel," she said softly.

He didn't stop. He walked out the door, closing it behind him.

She sighed.

'_Damn'_

She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings. She blinked, staring up at the ceiling again. Would he understand if she could tell him why she acted like this towards him? Or would he become even madder? After all, he hated Lindsey. So had she, for nearly three years. But it's kind of hard to hate some one who keeps saving your life. And, she supposed, it was a helping factor that he was so hot. And a lot of other things. And than, the door opened again. She looked up; it was Lindsey.

"Where were you?" she asked, finding herself glad to see him.

"Having a conversation with a sink," he replied, closing the door.

She would have laughed, but that would have resulted in pain, so she didn't. "Angel didn't see you, I'm guessing?" She said.

"No. Which is the reason I spent an hour talking to a sink," Lindsey said.

She smiled a little. "And was it good company?" she said almost teasingly.

"Didn't compare at all to you," he replied.

She blinked, caught off guard.

"So what happened with Angel the High and Mighty?" he continued, sitting down.

She looked at him a moment, trying to read his blue eyes. "Well, for one, he knows I don't have a cousin," she said.

"And I liked that idea too," he said.

"And, that's about it, really," she said slowly.

"Wow, a whole hour and that's it. I'm impressed." He said.

She narrowed her eyes a little. "Are you trying to funny?" she asked.

"Only for you," he replied.

They were both silent a moment.

"What are we going to do about Seth?" she asked softly.

He looked down at the floor, than back up at her. "I don't know," he said honestly.

But that reminded her of something. "Why didn't you tell me that Seth's after you too?" she asked slowly, keeping her tone even.

"I didn't think that you'd care," Lindsey said, watching her.

"Didn't think I'd care?" she repeated softly. She blinked, looking up at the ceiling once again.

He saw the faintest glimmering of tears in her eyes. "What did I say now?"

"I _do_ care, damn you!" Max said, "That's why I've been so mad at you! Mad at myself!" her voice rose, and she fought back the dull pain.

He looked at her, a little surprised.

A moment later, the door opened.

"Is everything alright?" the nurse asked.

"Yes," Max replied through gritted teeth.

The nurse looked over at Lindsey. "I'm sorry sir, but visiting hours are over."

"I'm not leaving my wife," he said.

The nurse looked from him to Max. Then she sighed. "Alright," she said.

There was silence as she left the room again.

He looked back at Max, but her eyes were closed, and she was far away.

_April Twenty-Fourth, 2001_

_The gunshot was still ringing in her ears as she rested her forehead on his chest, tears running down her face. How?_

"_Maxamelia," his quiet voice._

_She lifted her head a little._

'Go away!'

"_Maxamelia," he said again, "I'm sorry about your brother."_

'How can you be sorry? You b-'

"_Sorry?" She repeated out loud, rising as her emotions exploded into a tornado. "You're _sorry_?" she turned to him, "If you're so goddamn _sorry_, why didn't you tell me sooner that they were after him?"_

"_I couldn't," he said._

_She took him by the neck and started pushing him back, almost stepping on his feet; she was so close to him._

"_You _couldn't_?" she repeated. She kept pushing him until he hit the telephone pole that had been behind him._

"_If I did, they would've killed me," he said, "I wanted to, trust me."_

'Trust you?'

_That night, she had wanted to tell him that…she'd fallen…in love with him. Then he'd called her, told her that…a client of Wolfram & Hart was out for Seth. And then this happened._

"_I did!" her voice was rising, "And now Seth's…dead!" fresh tears stung her eyes._

"_I didn't have anything to do with this, so why are you so mad at me?" he said._

"_You knew!" she said accusingly, fingers tightening around his neck, "You _knew_ what they were doing!"_

_She knew why this hurt her so much more then it should have, because they were more then _just_ best friends…_

"Max?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him. Tears had made silent tracks across her cheeks, and she raised her left arm to wipe them away.

"I…didn't know you still cared-" he started.

"I've noticed," she interrupted.

He looked at her. "You've been trying to kill me the past two days. If you care, you have a weird way of telling me."

She didn't say anything, looking away.

'_Now's not the time for this.'_

'_Then when is?'_

'_. . .'_

Silence.

Then, the hair on the back of her neck stood up and she looked around. Something was up. And than, all of a sudden, a demon crashed through the window-the third floor window. Shards of glass flew across the room, and Max raised her uninjured arm in front of her face. As the demon landed in a crouch, Max heard an alarmed voice in the hallway. The demon let out a low hiss as it looked from Lindsey, who was on his feet now, to Max.

Its red eyes, glowed, and it started for Max. She sat up fully as Lindsey got between her and the demon. Oddly, the demon didn't seem interested in him, and tried to go around him. But he didn't let it. Just as he was grabbing the demon by the neck and throwing it back towards the window, the door opened and a nurse appeared. She saw the demon, screamed, and vanished again. The demon stumbled back, teetered at the edge, than dug the spike on its tail into the tile, holding its balance. It pulled its tail free, and swung it at Lindsey. It hit him and knocked him across the room.

"Lindsey," she breathed.

He got to his feet as the demon headed for Max. It grabbed her arm, and she tried to pull away. It hissed again as Lindsey twisted its scaly wrist, pulling it off Max.

"Keep your claws off her."

He pushed it back, than kicked it. It fell back over the edge, and vanished. He turned to her.

"You alright?" he asked.

She nodded. Then her eyes widened. "Behind you!"

It was another demon, like the first. It didn't give either of them a chance to react; it hit Lindsey across the face, sending him tumbling back, than started for Max. With a growl, she pulled the IV needle from her arm and got out of the hospital bed. Her cracked rib protested, but she fought back the pain. She picked up the chair with her left hand, and swung. Even though she was right handed, it hit the demon square in the head, and it stumbled back with a hiss. It wrapped its tail around her legs and pulled her off her feet. She uttered a sound of surprise and pain and dropped the chair.

"Get off of me!" she said, struggling.

It was no use; it was going to drag her right out the window. Then, all of a sudden, Lindsey was there. With a sword. He cut the demon's tail in half, and it let out a screech. Then he kicked it back, and it fell over the edge, vanishing in the darkness. She kicked her legs free, and looked up as he held out his hand to her. She accepted and he pulled her to her feet.

"Thanks," she said.

"There'll be more. Demons. Come on," he replied, starting for the door.

Just as they were just starting down the hall, there was an explosion from her room, and glass shattered, flying through the air as the repercussion wave knocked them both off their feet-the doctors and nurses around them too. Max gritted her teeth and bit her tongue as pain lanced through her side. After they were standing again, he looked at her, silently asking if she was alright. She nodded.

A demon leaped into the hallway behind them. Then another. They ran, turned a corner, and crashed into some one coming out of an elevator. It was there luck though; the doors were still open, and they slipped in. As Lindsey punched the 'B1' button, Max sank to the floor of the elevator. The doors slid closed, and something slammed into them. A demon.

He looked down at her. "What's wrong?"

Breathing hard, she shook her head.

It was then that he saw the blood running down her left leg, already forming a puddle; apparently a shard of glass from the explosion had sliced through her calf.


	6. Confrontation

Chapter Six

Confrontation

The elevator doors opened on the sub-level parking lot. Max couldn't walk-not fast enough, anyway, so Lindsey lifted her in his arms. A few minutes later, they were tearing out of there in a black car. Max blinked, trying to fight the black butterflies that were starting to spread their wings. She had to stay awake. Awake in case more demons. She blinked-

-Opened her eyes to a twinge of pain in her leg.

"Ow," she murmured.

"Sorry," she head Lindsey's voice, "I'm not very good at stitching wounds."

Everything was dark.

"The demons?" she said quietly.

"It's alright," he smoothed her white-blonde hair back from her face and kissed her forehead, "Rest."

"But-" she started to protest.

Then she was gone.

She slept; half awoke, than slept again. She opened her eyes, slowly rising up into full consciousness. She blinked, started to roll over, and felt a twinge of pain. That reminded her of why she'd slept on her back. As she started to sit up, she looked around. There was a window to her left, and late evening sunlight was filtering through it. How long had she slept? Was it only the evening after? She shifted her legs, and the movement resulted in another twinge of pain. She remembered the flying glass. She looked around, and saw a pile of cloths on the other side of the bed. For her? What else?

She couldn't say that she wouldn't be glad to be out of this stupid hospital gown. So she got dressed-Lindsey's shirt, Lindsey's jeans-and found that she really couldn't stand on her left leg for long. She sat there for a moment, and took a slow, deep breath, just enjoying the way his cloths smelled. She guessed she was falling in love all over again.

'_Me? Love him? Again? Well, it's been almost three years and _he's_ still in love with _me_.'_

"Good evening."

Max looked up at the sound of his voice. "Hey," she said, "How long…?"

"A day," he said. He looked at her a moment. "My cloths never look that good on me."

She half smiled, "So you think. But seriously, fashion statement?"

"Seriously," he said, walking over and sitting down next to her.

'_How do you feel?'_

'_Well, alright, saying I have demons and my Frankenstein brother trying to kill me.'_

"Funny," he said aloud, though his tone said he didn't find it funny at all.

"Only for you," she said, remembering that he'd said it before. She stood, shaky, but alright.

He stood beside her, ready to catch her if she fell. "Can you walk?" he asked her.

"I won't be running any marathons, but yeah," she replied.

"No offense, but I think I need to do some shopping," Max said.

"What, you don't like my cloths?" he said with mock indignation.

"It's not that," she said, looking down, "It's just…you know."

"Unfortunately," Lindsey said.

She smacked him lightly on the arm. A while later, she was driving down the road-in another black car-after she promised him that she'd be careful-and that she wouldn't wreck this car. First, she went to an ATM machine-because the hospital still had her wallet and phone, and cloths she'd been wearing. She pulled out about a thousand from her account, figuring it would be enough to cover her for a while.

Then, careful of her cracked rib, she went down to Gadzooks and started shopping. Taunt platform boots, Hot Kiss velvet pants, Candies' motorcycle jacket, tanks, jeans, Curious perfume, and other, not-so-expensive things. As she was heading back to the car with her bags, she thought she saw Angel walking down the street ahead of her, and froze. She ducked back into the doorway of the store she'd come out of. As she was waiting there, the cell phone in her pocket-Lindsey's cell phone-went off. For a moment, she was surprised, than pulled it out. She blinked. It was _her_ cell number. Only one person it could be.

"Yeah, Linds?" she said, peering around the bend. No Angel.

"Have you always been psychic?" he said.

A shiver ran down her spine at the sound of his voice, "Only when you're calling from my cell," she replied, starting back to the car.

"I got your stuff from the hospital."

"You're so nice," she said with a small smile as she reached the car.

"Figured it was the only way I'd get my shirt back," he said.

"Hmm," she said as she unlocked the door and tossed her bags inside, "I don't think you'll get it back now anyway," she slid in and closed the door.

"Damn," he said with mock disappointment.

She half laughed, "I'll be back in about twenty minutes, see you then."

"Alright."

She hung up.

She pulled out of the parking spot, fiddling with the radio until she found 98 Rock. At the moment, it was playing a Linkin Park song. Just her style. As she was singing along, she suddenly remembered the name-'By Myself.'

For a moment, she just sat there in the car, gazing up at the apartment building as she put a hand lightly over where her cracked rib was. Then, with a careful sigh, she gathered up her bags and got out of the car.

Max put her bags down on the bed and turned to find Lindsey, when he came up behind her, gently putting his arms around her. She stopped.

"Hello again," she said.

"Hello," he said in her ear, and a tingle flitted across her skin.

She closed her eyes for a moment, than pulled away. "After what happened at the hospital, Angel will be looking for me-again," Max said, changing the subject from whatever would have happened, "I should call him so he won't tear the whole city down."

He looked at her a moment, not sure if that was really such a good idea.

The phone started ringing. Angel looked around; he seemed to be the only one in the lobby at the moment. He sighed; he didn't have time for this. Yet he picked it up anyway.

"Angel Investigations."

"Angel!"

He recognized her voice in an instant. "Max! Where are you?" he asked, concerned.

"Somewhere safe," was her reply.

"Safe? After what happened last night, I thought you were dead!" he exclaimed.

"I know, I mean, I'm sorry," she said, "I just…haven't got a chance to talk to you before now."

There was something odd about the way she said that. "Where are you?" he said again, becoming suspicious, "What's going on?"

"What do you think's going on, Angel?" she said with a sigh, "My brother's been turned into a murderous monster, trying to kill me, and now demons are after me."

He was quiet a moment. "Who're you with?" He asked.

"I'm-"

"Your 'friend' from the hospital?"

"GOD! Who are you, my mother?" she exclaimed. She paused, and he could tell by the way she was breathing that her outburst had upset her rib. "I'm fine," she exhaled slowly, "I'm coming to get my stuff."

"Why? Why can't you stay here?" he asked.

"It's not safe. Seth would find me there," she replied.

"And he won't find you where you are now?' Angel demanded.

Max looked around at the archaic runes that were on the walls above each door and window. That's why Seth hadn't found Lindsey yet. "Not very easily," she replied.

"You'll be safer here, where we can all protect you," Angel protested.

He could almost hear her grind her teeth together. "You'll all die than. He's after you and me. If we're both together, we'll be sitting ducks. Split up is better," she said softly.

"But-" he started. He really wanted her to stay with him, so he could protect her.

"Please. Just trust me on this," she said, cutting him off, "I'll be by in a little while for my stuff."

Then she hung up.

He just stood there for a moment, than slowly lowered the phone. What was she hiding?

In a few minutes, Max had changed; new jeans, Lindsey's dark red 'cowboy' style shirt that he was never going to get back, her motorcycle jacket, and stretch platform boots. She found Lindsey in the kitchen.

"I'm going to get my stuff from the hotel," she said.

He turned to her. "The only time you sat still was when you were unconscious," he said.

"Yeah, well, don't get any ideas," she said with a half smile, reaching into his pocket for the keys to the car. "I'll be back in a few," she said, turning.

She was still walking with a slight limp.

He wanted to stop her, to kiss her before she left, but he didn't. "Be careful," he said.

"I will," she replied over her shoulder.

He gazed after her until he heard the door open and close.

Max parked in front of Angel Investigations, and just sat there for a moment. Then, tucking her long white-blonde hair behind her ears, she opened the door and got out. She walked around the car and up the front walk. She paused in front of the doors, took a deep breath, and walked in. Connor saw her first, as he'd been coming down the stairs.

"Max!" he said.

She turned, and her eyes lit up, "Connor!" she said.

They hugged, and for a moment, neither of them seemed to want to let go. But he hugged her a little too tight.

"Ow," she breathed.

He let go and looked at her, "Sorry," he said sincerely.

"It's alright," she said with a thin smile. She looked around, "Where's Angel?" she asked.

"In the back room. I'll tell him you're here," Connor said, turning.

"No!" she said, catching him the arm, "That's alright."

He stopped, gave her a look.

Cordy seemed to pop up from no where, with Fred trailing behind her.

"Max! How're you-wow, the jacket and boots are new, aren't they?" Cordy said.

"Hey Cordy," Max smiled, "Yes, they're new. Hey Fred," she smiled again.

Fred waved and smiled in return, "Hey Max," she said.

"I can't stay long, I'm just getting my stuff," Max said. She just didn't want Angel to see her. Or Spike. She walked towards the stairs, but paused. "Hey Cordy, tell Groo I said hi."

Then she went quickly up the stairs to her room. With a sigh, she closed the door behind her. Looking around, she bent and pulled the duffle bag from under her bed. Then she started pulling her 'important' cloths from her dresser and closet. Next when in necessary accessories and jewelry boxes. She pulled a few of her rock star posters from the wall. From her nightstand beside her bed, she took the dagger that Connor had given her. It was beautiful, really; some sort of silver metal handle with weaving designs, and a white gem at the end. The blade was silver, almost a foot long. It was a straight edge, but waved that were still just as sharp. And there were Celtic symbols etched on the blade. Both for protection and strength.

She packed it too, along with some other things. When she was done, she zipped up the bag, and, carrying it in her good hand, she went downstairs. She heard voices and paused a moment. Connor, Angel, and Cordy were standing in the lobby.

'_Damn'_

She turned, waited.

She hurried down the front walk, and was just tossing her stuff in the back seat of the car when a familiar voice stopped her.

"Max."

She turned, pushing her hair back from her face. "Oh, hey Wes, Gunn," she said, trying to sound casual. Why was she so uptight anyway?

"Leaving already?" Wes said.

"Um, yeah, I just came for my stuff," she said.

He nodded slowly, "Did you talk to Angel?"

"No. He's busy, and I didn't want to bother him," Max said, resting one hand lightly on the bruise on her forehead. She glanced over at Gunn; saw that he was eyeing her car.

"Nice car," he said.

That drew Wes' attention. "Yes," he said, "It's not yours, is it?"

"No. It's my friend's," she said, walking around to the driver's side.

"The friend you're staying with?" he said.

"Yeah," she nodded.

He looked at her for a moment. "What were you going to tell me that night?"

"It's nothing," she said, shifting her weight to her right foot, "I'm sorry, I have to go. I'll see you guys later." She opened the door and slid in.

'_Yeah, Wes's suspicious.'_

She closed the door and started the engine.

Wesley watched Max drive away, wondering why she was so nervous.


	7. Connor

Chapter Seven

Connor

"Lindsey?" she said, opening the door and walking in.

She looked around as she closed the door behind her. "Lindsey?" she repeated, going into the bedroom to put down her duffle bag. No one. Hmm… She sat down on the bed to take her boots off, because her leg was starting to hurt again. As she did so, she noticed something sticking out from under the bed. Something that looked like a tan folder. She blinked. Just as she was reaching for it, a voice stopped her.

"You're back."

She jumped, than looked up. "Lindsey. Where were you?" she asked.

He didn't answer her, instead, he said, "You got everything you needed?"

Max just looked at him for a moment. "Yeah," she said after a minute, "My copy of the project files too."

He knew what she meant.

"She left already?" Angel repeated, not quite believing it.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Cordy said, like he was stupid.

"She didn't seem herself, like she was hiding something," Wesley mused.

"You noticed that too?" Angel said, glad that it wasn't just him being paranoid.

"What would she have to hide?" Gunn said.

"That's what I can't figure out; she shouldn't have anything to hide," Angel said.

"I heard her talking to some one, just before…the accident," Connor said.

Max lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling-god, hadn't she done enough of that in the hospital?-because she found it hard to sleep. Anyone would find it hard with demons out to kill them. And then, quiet suddenly, she was out like a light.

'_She got to her feet on the sweeping front lawn, disoriented. The sky was growing black, and a cool breeze was picking up. She looked around; where was he?_

"_Lindsey!" she called._

_Her voice seemed to echo back upon her. She looked behind her; Seth was standing near the mansion. Her heart did a weird flip-flop, and she turned to run. Past the six-foot hedges, past the stone fountain. The breeze grew stronger, pushing at her back. She could see the tree line ahead, the bit of woods that separated the mansion from the rest of the bustling city. It was a downhill slope though, and an explosion from behind her sent her flying forward, rolling down the slope. She lay on her back, blinking. She started to get up, but some one kicked her in the side. With a shout, she rolled. She lay there, gasping for breath, as some one stood over her._

"_Seth. . ." she whispered, looking up at him._

_The pupils of his eyes were yellow, and his face was distorted. A spike grew from his left wrist, grew until it was almost three feet long. He held it above her._

"_Game over," he said, and plunged the spike down._

_It stabbed through her stomach, all the way, into the ground. She let out a sound that was halfway between a scream and a yelp-'_

She bolted upright with a loud gasp, her left hand over her stomach. She saw Lindsey sitting beside her, one hand stretched out towards her as if he'd been about to wake her up. She threw her arms around him, shivering all over.

"He can't hurt you here," Lindsey said softly, holding her.

Her heart was still pounding. She was breathing hard as if she'd been running, and it hurt.

He felt her shake her head. "He can't hurt you here," he repeated, lightly stroking her hair.

"No," she managed in a whisper, "When I sleep, he's there."

He was quiet a moment. "I won't let him hurt you," he said.

She was still shivering when she whispered, "But he's after you too……And I worry."

He started to pull back to look at her, but she stopped him.

"Don't let go," she whispered. She also didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes.

After a long while, she finally stopped shivering.

Max awoke to sunlight coming in through the window. She blinked, not even knowing she'd fallen back to sleep, not knowing she even _could_. Lindsey was still holding her, that's why she felt so safe. She tilted her head slightly. He was asleep, she though. She smiled faintly.

'_He's so cute when he's asleep.'_

'_I know.'_

She blinked in surprise as he opened his eyes. Such beautiful blue eyes.

"Sleep better?" he said softly, moving stray strands of her hair back from her face.

"Yeah," she said after a moment.

Then her cell phone started ringing. She blinked, looking around. She sat up, slid off the bed, and picked it up. She flipped it open.

"It's Wes," she said aloud with a frown.

She pressed the talk button.

"Yeah Wes," she said.

"Max, we need you here-" he started.

"Now's not a good time," she said. She held the phone in her right hand-with the broken wrist-and ran the fingers of her left hand through her hair.

"It's important. Something's happened."

She froze. "What?" she managed, her heart speeding up a little.

"It…it's Connor. Seth took Connor."

Her heart skipped a beat. A couple of beats, actually. The phone slipped from her hand and landed with a muffled thump.

"Max?"

She sat in the passenger side of the car, staring straight ahead through the windshield. The sky was overcast, threatening rain. She wore her platform boots, blue jeans, and a long sleeved shirt under her leather jacket, which was zipped up all the way. She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering how she'd gotten here.

'She hesitated for a moment, looking out the window at the large old hotel that had been turned into Angel Investigations. She looked back at Lindsey, and he pulled her close to kiss her on the lips. She loved the way he kissed her, but she was too worried about Connor for it to cause the tingles it would have.

"It'll be alright," he said.

"Easy for you to say," she said softly. She wished-hoped-everything would be alright.

"Hey, if you don't want moral support…" he let the sentence hang.

"I know," she whispered, and got out of the car.

She closed the door behind her and walked up the steps. She pushed open the doors.

Wes looked up. Gunn, Fred, and Cordy were also there.

"What happened?" Max asked.

Wes told her that Seth had come. They'd thought he was after Angel-who hadn't been there and still wasn't-but then Seth had gone specifically for Connor. They'd all tried to stop him-Gunn looked like he'd gotten the worst of it-but it had proved useless. Seth was stronger and more powerful then all of them.

"Where's Angel?" she asked after a moment.

"He's still out tracking down a demon with Spike and Groo," Wes replied, studying her.

"Does he know?"

"No."

She sighed. This was getting better and better.

"He'll want to talk to you when he gets back," Wes said.

"There's no time," Max said, standing and heading for the doors.

"Where're you going?" Cordy called.

Max didn't answer, just kept walking.

She got back in the car. "I know where Seth took Connor." '

And now she was sitting here. Gazing up at the house-mansion-she thought she'd never go back to since Seth's death. Home. The place in her dreams.

"How did you know he'd come here?" Lindsey asked.

"This is where we grew up. And he knew I would know," she replied, opening the door. "Come on, we've wasted enough time talking." She stood, closing the door.

"You must really care about Connor," he said, getting out of the car as well.

She looked at him. "Yeah," she said quietly, pulling her dagger-the one Connor had given her-from her boot, "He's like what Seth used to be to me."

They started to walk up the front lawn. She looked up at the looming mansion.

The front door was unlocked, and they could just walk in. Max looked around.

"I think he knows we're here," she said.

"He knows _you're _here," Lindsey corrected her.

"That's right," she said.

'_Damn you. . .'_

She paused, looking around the large foyer with the twin, sweeping staircases. She felt drawn to the stairs, and so started up them. Second floor hallway. Left. Almost all the way down to the end. Room on the left, facing the front. That's where she felt the cold, dark presence. It was almost visible, like a black light. So that's where she went. Thunder rumbled, echoing through the house. As she reached the room near the end of the hall, the door swung open all by itself. She glanced back at Lindsey. Max stood in the doorway to the room. Seth was by the window, his back to them, and Connor lay on the floor, seemingly unconscious.

Seth turned. "Well, the both of you. This'll make things easier," he said.

"That's what you think," Max said, her voice wavering.

'_He's not the Seth I know anymore.'_

Steeling herself against her emotions and thoughts, she threw the dagger at him. He didn't move to dodge, but at the last minute, he caught the weapon and threw it back at her with lightning speed. She blinked, surprised, and too late started to move. Lindsey pulled her out of the way.

"Get Connor," he told her.

Regaining her balance, she looked at him a moment, than nodded.

'_Don't get yourself killed.'_

'_. . .'_

She darted across the room to Connor. Seth glanced at her, than started for Lindsey. Max knelt beside Connor, her heart skipping a beat. It looked like he had put up a hell of a fight-and lost.

"Connor?" she said, touching his shoulder.

A crash caused her to flinch. She looked up. Seth had thrown Lindsey into one of the end tables. She looked back to Connor.

"Connor? Come on, wake up," she said gently.

'_Come on! There's no time!'_

All of a sudden, a shadow fell over her, and she had just enough time to start to look up, when Seth grabbed her by the neck and pulled her up. With one hand, he held her in the air, her feet dangling.

"So sweet you came to rescue your little friend," Seth said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

She raised her hands, trying to break his grip. She couldn't, he was too strong. He looked normal enough, but the pupils of his eyes were yellow. Just like in her dream. It was getting harder and harder for her to breathe. So she kicked him. Once, twice. He didn't even flinch. Her eyes widened a little more.

"That won't do you any good, Maxy," Seth said.

She turned her eyes, looking for Lindsey. He was quickly getting to his feet. He came at Seth, and Seth raised a hand to knock him away. Lindsey caught his fist, twisted his arm, and attempted to pull him off balance. Annoyed, Seth took a step, and swept his other leg around, hitting Lindsey in the back of his knees, knocking him down. Then, some how, Seth sent him careening across the room.

'_Lindsey!'_

'_I'm fine.'_

"So he's your _boyfriend_, huh?" Seth said, his gaze flickering towards Lindsey.

"Seth…" Max managed, "What have they…done to you?"

Something changed in his eyes-for just the briefest of seconds. She was growing dizzy; her heart was pounding-loud as a gong-in her ears. As Lindsey was standing, he saw Max's waved-blade dagger embedded in the wall beside him. He pulled it free, and threw it at Seth. It hit him square in his right shoulder. Same as the arm he was using to hold Max up. Seth suddenly released Max, who fell to the floor beside Connor, taking deep, gasping breaths.

"Doesn't feel too good, does it?" Lindsey said to Seth.

Seth gave him a dirty look as he pulled the dagger from his shoulder. "I'd forgotten how annoying you are," he said.

He drew his arm back, presumably to throw the weapon back at him, and Max kicked him-hard-in the knee. She heard a pop, and Seth faltered, looking down at her. She climbed shakily to her feet, realizing that Connor was starting to come to. Lindsey distracted Seth from Max by punching him, and as Seth turned, Max pulled Connor out of the way, which was hard to do one handedly.

"Come on, get up," she said to him.

He blinked, looked disoriented for a moment, than got to his feet. "What's going on?" he said, looking around the room.

"No time, we have to get out of here," Max said, her attention going to Lindsey and Seth.

Connor's gaze locked onto Seth, and fire lit his dark eyes. "Him," he said lowly, and started towards him.

She put a hand on his chest to stop him, and gave him a look. "Are you _crazy_? He just beat the shit outta you _before_, and I came here to save you, and here you want to fight him _again_?" she said, mostly angry because she was concerned for both him and Lindsey, "We'll all get killed if we stay."

They were running across the front lawn, thunder rumbling from the dark clouds overhead.

"Who is he?" Connor asked as they neared the car.

She didn't answer him.

"Are you alright?" she said instead after a moment.

He didn't answer her.

There suddenly came a crash from behind them, and Max turned her head, hesitating. Lindsey had, apparently, jumped through the second floor window. He landed easily on his feet, and started towards them. And he had her dagger.


	8. Love Struck

Chapter Eight

It was evening-finally. The day felt like it had lasted a year. After they'd taken Connor back to Angel Investigations, she'd explained what'd happened-well, most of it. She'd still avoided telling them about Lindsey. She might have if she hadn't gone though the thing with Seth earlier, but she just couldn't handle it right now. Besides, wouldn't they all freak out?

She took off her jacket, sighing. Her shoulders were all stiff, and there were bruises on her neck. And Lindsey, even though he'd done more fighting than she had, was fine, aside from some bruises. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She heard Lindsey walk into the room and come up behind her. He started to massage her shoulders, and she closed her eyes.

After a moment, he said, "Thinking about Seth?"

"……Yeah," she said.

"We'll find a way to stop him," he said.

"But what if we don't?" She said, opening her eyes, "What if we _can't_ stop him?"

He was quiet.

"He knows that we're…together…now. He probably did before." She said. "If he finds us, he'll kill us." She turned.

"I'd protect you," he said, sliding his arms around her.

"And get yourself killed in the process," she said, putting a hand on his chest.

"Than I'd die for you," he said.

"Don't." she said, "Because if you die, I'd have to go down to Hell to kick your ass."

"Who said-" Lindsey started.

"Just…" she interrupted him, "Don't get yourself killed for me."

"I can't make any promises," he said.

She just looked at him, gazing into his blue eyes.

"Alright," he said quietly.

He raised a hand to her face, and kissed her on the lips. A slow, deep kiss that took her breath away and caused a tingle to spread across her skin like a wave. She made a noise that sounded like she'd started to say 'wow'.

'_With a kiss like that…'_

'_What?'_

"I…Dunno," she whispered.

He kissed her again, and she felt like she was melting inside.

"How come Max is never around when I'm here?" Angel said, frustrated.

"She's avoiding you," Connor said.

Angel turned to look at him. "What?"

"Connor's right," Wes said.

"Why would she?"

"To protect whatever it is she's hiding," Wes said.

"Who or what?" Cordy said.

"Who," Connor pointed out, "A man."

"'Cousin Ryan'," Angel said, "But why?"

"She's the only one who knows," Wes said.

"Find her. Where ever she is. This has gone on long enough," Angel said.

He had the foreboding feeling that Max had turned into a stranger. He hoped he was wrong.

Max and Lindsey lay in bed together, his arms around her. With one finger, she traced the tattoos on his chest. Another reason Seth hadn't found him. Ditto for Wolfram & Hart. She trailed her fingers lower, across his stomach.

"Hey, that tickles," he said, catching her hand.

"I didn't know you were ticklish," Max said.

"I didn't know you were, either," he said devilishly.

She felt his fingers on her side. Right on the ticklish spot just above her hip. She tried not to laugh, but it was impossible.

"Ow. No laughing, remember?" she said as pain flared briefly at the spot of her cracked rib.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry," he said, sounding disappointed.

She laid her head on his shoulder, thinking.

He softly stroked her hair.

She thought a moment more, and when she spoke, she was remembering something from years past.

"He was wrong about you," she said softly.

He knew who she meant, and he was quiet a moment. "He usually was," Lindsey said at last, "But how was he wrong about me this time?"

She was careful at choosing her words. "After you left…" she said slowly, "Everything was hard on me…and he said some stuff…about you, trying to make me feel better. But it ended up being the reason we drifted apart. Or I drifted away from him."

"The Hero screwed up?" he said, sounding bitterly amused, "No one said he was perfect."

"Far from it, in fact," she said. For some reason, she wondered if she'd said the wrong thing.

"Really, I would've never guessed," he said.

She heard the sarcasm in his voice. "You really don't like him, do you?" she said.

"He cut off my hand," he said simply.

"Yeeah, that'll do it," she said.

"Let's talk about something other then him."

"Alright," she said quietly.

There was a long moment of silence.

"All this time, these years…what were you doing?" she said finally.

"That's a long story," he replied.

"We've got time," Max said.

"A really long story," Lindsey said.

She raised her head to look at him. "I'm not going anywhere."

'_You know that.'_

"In that case. . ."

It was night again. The day had passed normal. No demon attacks, or Seth. She wondered if it was the calm before the storm. They were both heading out for some Chinese food when her cell phone started ringing. She looked at Lindsey, then pulled her phone out of her pocket. She flipped it open to see who was calling.

"Angel." She said, looking up.

"Don't answer it," he said.

And she didn't.

The Chinese take out place, whether they were aware of it or not, was right around the corner from Angel Investigations. As they were waiting there, there came shouts from outside, and suddenly, a demon crashed through the glass front. They turned as people screamed. Max's eyes widened-it was the same kind of demon that attacked them at the hospital! It reached them with three, bounding steps-and grabbed Max. She struggled, hitting and kicking it, but it didn't seem to have much affect.

"Max!" Lindsey said as he started towards them.

Like lightning, the demon swung its long, spiked tail around and hit him hard in the chest, sending him flying back. Then it turned, and bounded out the way it had come-taking Max with it. Even though Lindsey managed to land on his feet, and was after the demon in a second, it was already practically to the corner. Max tried to reach her dagger, but couldn't. So she rammed her elbow back into the demon's face. It hissed as she heard something crack. She elbowed it again, and it slowed, loosening its grip.

"Hell with _that_," she muttered.

Acting fast again, ahs reached behind her, grabbing the demon's head in both hands, and twisted hard. There was a resonating crunch, and the demon very suddenly stopped dead-pun intended. Of course, when it fell, it landed on top of her. A hundred and fifty or so pounds of demon. Knocked the wind out of her and caused her side to hurt like hell. And worse, if possible, her arms were pinned down and she couldn't free them to push the demon off of her. But then, Lindsey appeared, and pulled the demon to the side. She was able to stand, and put a hand on her side.

"Are you hurt?" he asked her.

"No. I don't think so," she said, looking around.

There was a crash, and two more demons leaped down and landed on the road about thirty feet away.

"Not _more_ demons," Max muttered.

"Looks like it," Lindsey said.

"This should be fun," she said dryly, freeing her dagger.

Issuing twin shrieks, the demons bounded towards them. They attacked fast, one of them going for Lindsey, the other for Max. The demon reached out with its long claws in a move that was either meant to gut her like a fish, or cut her in half. She dove out of the way, and its claws just winged her arm. When she recovered, she kicked it hard in one knee. The result was a screech and a crunch. Its eyes glowed, and it whipped its tail around.

Inside Angel Investigations, they were still trying to find Max. When they heard the faint sounds of a fight from outside.

"Is that…?" Connor said after a moment.

"What?" Cordy said.

"Yeah," Angel said as he turned.

"_What_?" Cordy said again, looking around at them.

The demon had hit Max with its bullwhip like tail, and knocked her off her feet. But then she'd thrown her dagger, and hit it square in the forehead.

"How d'ya like _that_?" she said triumphantly.

As she climbed to her feet, she suddenly remembered Lindsey. She looked over to see him pushing the other dead demon off him.

"Gee, I guess _you_ didn't need any help," she said, walking over and reaching down to retrieve her dagger.

Then she walked over to him. "You alright?" She asked.

He started to reply, but a voice caused them both to look up.

"Max?" Connor said.

Him and the rest of the gang. Well, minus Spike and Groo. Angel was still walking towards them.

"Not _now_," Max muttered under her breath.

"Max, what…" Angel stopped short when he recognized Lindsey. "Lindsey," he narrowed his eyes and looked at Max, "_He's _the secret you were protecting?"

Max didn't say anything.

"I'm surprised it took you so long. Didn't think you were _always_ this slow," Lindsey said.

Angel ignored him. "I thought you hated him," he said to Max.

The others were talking, saying something. She didn't hear a word.

"They say there's a fine line between love and hate," she said, gazing at him as she crossed her arms, "It's true."

"What!" Angel exclaimed, "You, love _him_!" He looked from her, to Lindsey. Angel wished that he could wipe the smug expression from his face. In fact, he didn't know why he just didn't.

"Is that so hard to believe?" she said.

"Coming from you it is," Angel said. He looked at Lindsey. "Why did you even bother coming back?"

"I didn't come back for you," Lindsey replied. He looked over at Max.

Angel looked at the both of them. "What, _love_?" he said sarcastically with a humorless laugh, "You _think_ you love her? You didn't before. What, you've been back a few days and suddenly you're-"

Max back handed him across the face, catching him by surprise. "And what would _you_ know about love? You're a vampire with a Gypsy curse," she said venomously, "Why don't you stop being so judgmental, and act mature."

"You never stop surprising me," Lindsey said to her.

Angel looked at her, and she saw the anger burning in his eyes. Something else too. "You know what," he said, "Forget it." Then he turned and started to walk back to the Hotel.

Just as an explosion rocked the street.


	9. Finale

Chapter Nine

The tremors that ran through the street almost knocked her off her feet. After that, they all had the same reaction; looking around for the source. And it didn't take long. Seth stood in the middle of the street about thirty feet away.

"Well, who started the party without me?" he said, walking slowly closer. His attention flickered to Angel. "At last, the vampire with a soul."

Angel looked at him. "And you're Wolfram & Hart's freak pet."

Max looked from Seth, to Angel, to Lindsey.

"Stay back," Lindsey said.

Seth laughed. "You act brave for some one who's going to be dead soon," he said to Angel. With a wave of his hand, he sent Angel flying back.

"Angel!" Cordy shouted.

He hit the pavement, and after a moment, started to stand

With a dark look, Connor started for Seth, who watched him with a grin. He let Connor get close, let him punch him, but then Seth kicked him, knocking him down. Wes had vanished inside Angel Investigations, presumably getting weapons.

"Cordy! Get inside!" Angel called.

She shook her head. "You need help!" she said.

"Gunn, take Fred and Cordy inside!" Angel said.

"Got it," Gunn replied.

Connor climbed to his feet as Max started towards them. With a simple flick of his wrist, Seth sent Connor tumbling back. Connor crashed into Max, and they both fell. Max winced, dropped her dagger. Connor got to his feet, he helped Max up.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, trying to divide his attention between her and Seth.

"Yeah," she nodded.

He turned to head for Seth.

She stopped him. "Be careful," she said, "For once just listen to me and be careful."

He looked at her for a moment. "Alright." Whether he meant it, or was just saying it, was unclear.

But she knew.

As she bent to pick up her dagger, she muttered to herself, "I knew you wouldn't listen."

Angel ran at Seth, as she noticed Lindsey standing beside her. She looked at him. "How come you get a sword, and I always end up with just a dagger?" she said.

"Magic," he said.

"Max!"

She turned at the sound of Wes' voice. He tossed her a battle axe.

"Now this is more like it," she said as she caught it in her left hand.

She slid her dagger back in its sheath. She might be acting tough, but inside, it was killing her. This. What was happening. Max turned to see Angel drive a sword through Seth's stomach. Seth looked down at the sword, than at Angel. He gave Angel a hard shove, and simply pulled out the sword. Max's eyes widened. Seth turned to block the sword attack from Connor, and made an attack of his own. Parried and attacked. All she could do was stand there; she felt frozen.

Then some force drew her forward. She swung the axe. The next few seconds blurred. She attacked Seth, he retaliated-kicked her across the ribs and sent her flying back. She hit pavement hard, rolled a few feet, and there a moment. She was gasping for breath, a hand over her ribs, as pain flared through her side. She started to get to her feet, as Seth walked towards her. She swung the axe around in an arc, but he ducked to the side and punched her in the face.

"You're no match for me, sister," he said.

Her head snapped back, and she fell to one knee. Pain flared briefly through her neck. She bent her head and felt blood drip down from her nose. Seth pulled her to her feet by her neck. He pulled her dagger from its sheath at her hip.

"Just get it over with," she said, wincing.

She suddenly saw a blur of movement to the left and turned her eyes; Lindsey. At the same time she brought the axe blade down on Seth's arm, cutting him to the bone, Seth whipped his other arm around and stabbed Lindsey with her dagger. Her eyes widened as Seth released her.

"Lindsey!"

She dropped the axe and went to him. She saw that the dagger had just hit him in the shoulder.

"I'm alright," he said with a grimace, pulling out the dagger and dropping it.

"Alright?" she repeated shrilly, "You are not alright!"

Blood was already soaking through the shoulder of his shirt.

"You can't afford to worry about me," he said.

"Like Hell!" she exclaimed.

Sounds of the fight from behind her drew her attention. She half turned to look. Seth and Connor were fighting. And Connor was losing. She had to do something. She looked back at Lindsey, than made up her mind. She turned; dove forward, scooped up the axe, and stood.

"Connor! Get out of the way!" she shouted, moving forward.

He glanced at her. Nodded.

Seth turned to face Max, and she threw the battle axe. Before he could stop it, it struck him in the right shoulder, a few inches below his collar bone. Seth let out a shout, and a kind of force wave knocked Max and everyone else off their feet. She lay there, blinking as she fought back pain. Before she stood, she picked up her dagger. She saw that the others were watching Seth, wary and unsure. Seth had pulled the axe out, and was on his knees, one hand over his shoulder wound. Something didn't seem right. His head was bent, and he was just…sitting there.

Max glanced at Wes. He looked just as puzzled and suspicious as she did. Cautiously, she walked closer to Seth. What was going on? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Angel to her left, also walking towards Seth. He was holding a sword. As she eyed Seth, she kept her guard up. Seth raised his head to look at her. His face appeared normal, but the pupils of his eyes were yellow, and she guessed they would always be. There was confusion in his eyes.

"Maxy?" he said softly.

His tone of voice, the way he spoke, even the way he acted, was different then just moments before. For a minute, she forgot to breathe. She saw Angel swing the sword around, preparing to deliver the 'fatal' blow to Seth. She raised her arm, using her dagger to stop him. There was a scattering of sparks accompanied by the screech of metal on metal. She turned to him, pushing him back. He looked at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?" Angel said.

"Something about him's changed," Max said lowly.

"Changed? He just tried to kill all of us, and you more then once," Angel said.

"Dammit! Listen to me!" Max said through gritted teeth, "Something happened to him when the axe hit him-"

"I noticed _that_," he cut in.

"I think…he's different now," she finished.

They all sat in Angel Investigations. The gang all at one side of the lobby, Seth by himself where they could watch him. Even with this situation, Max and Lindsey seemed to have been shunned; they were alone in Angel's office. He had his shirt off, and despite her own injuries, she was trying to stop the bleeding of his shoulder wound. It wasn't nearly as bad now. They were both silent.

"Looks like you were the hero tonight," Lindsey said after another long moment.

She glanced out at Seth, than returned her attention to what she was doing. "I don't think Angel thinks so," she said quietly.

"Do you really give a damn what he thinks?" he said.

She didn't say anything as she stitched the wound closed.

He looked at her, than looked past her into the lobby.

"I think that'll hold," she said, meaning the stitches.

He looked at her, "Thanks."

"Yeah," she said quietly. "I'll be right back," she added.

She took the medical supplies and walked from the room, her head slightly bowed. She had to walk past the others to return the supplies. Angel acted like she wasn't even there, so did Cordy and Gunn. Connor glanced at her briefly, gaze half confused, half accusing. She looked away. As she walked back across the lobby, Seth raised his head and looked at her, his haunted, forlorn gaze stopping her in her tracks.

"Sis?" he said quietly.

She blinked, walked a little closer, still edgy. She didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything. He was her brother, but he'd turned into a stranger.

"I'm sorry," he said, so quietly she almost didn't hear him.

"What?" she said hesitantly, moving a little closer.

"I'm sorry," he repeated a little louder, "I remember what I've done…and what those bastards did to me to start everything…"

She just looked at him, blinking.

"I'll understand if you hate me now," Seth said softly, looking down, "You and the others."

She blinked again, caught by surprise. Than tears filled her eyes and she went over to him. She knelt beside him, slipping her fingers under his chin and lifting his head, gazing into his eerie eyes. "I _don't_ hate you," she said, "I _love_ you, you're still my brother."

"The others hate me," he protested.

"How do you know?" she said after a moment, trying to fight back her tears.

"I can feel it, I can hear their thoughts," he said.

She had lost the battle with her tears, and they were making silent tracks down her cheeks.

"Max?" she heard Lindsey's voice.

A WEEK LATER

Max walked determinedly into Angel Inc. Night had just fallen, and she didn't want to stay here long, for more reasons than one. Angel looked up from the papers that were scattered on the counter. He narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything.

She noticed his expression. "Chill, I won't be here long. There's only one reason I came," she said.

"Yeah," was all he said.

'_God, is he still pissed off?'_

"I quit," she declared, crossing her arms, "No more 'me' in the gang."

"Good."

His response startled her, and she blinked, "W-what?"

"I was firing you anyway," Angel said, tone cold.

"Fine," she replied just as coldly, "Tell everyone I said good-bye."

Then she turned and walked back out. She hadn't seen Connor at the top of the stairs.

"Max! Wait!" a voice called as she was crossing the courtyard.

She turned. "Connor," she said softly.

He caught up with her, stopping in front of her.

"You heard?" she guessed from his expression.

He nodded, his blue eyes stormy with unsure ness and concern. "You're really leaving?" he said.

"Yeah," she said with a quick, sad smile, "But I'm not going too far." She raised a hand to brush a lock of hair back from his eyes.

He looked like he wanted to say something more, but he didn't. Instead, he leaned forward, and kissed her on the lips, surprising them both. She gently pushed him back, than put her arms around him and hugged him tight. He hugged her back, though was mindful of her healing rib. She raised a hand to the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair. When she finally pulled back, she hid the glimmer of tears in her eyes.

"Don't be a stranger, alright?" she said, ruffling his hair, though she knew he hated that.

He nodded slowly, looking sad.

She tilted his head forward, and kissed him on the forehead. "See you around, little brother," she said, forcing a small smile.

Then Max turned and pushed open the courtyard gate. She closed it behind her, walked around to the driver's side of the black car, and got in.


	10. LA Song

Chapter Ten

LA Song

One Month Later

It was a bar, called Faith, and tonight was Open Mike Night. As of now, the stage was occupied by just Lindsey, his guitar, and Max. The low lights illuminated only them, and as Max held her mike in one hand, something glimmered on her hand. It was a diamond engagement ring. She closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the first chords of the guitar as Lindsey played. It was the only sound, the whole bar was quiet.

"Pretty girl on every corner, sunshine turns the sky to gold. Warm, warm, it's always warm here," he sand, his voice sending shivers down her spine even now.

She smiled to herself: she loved the Southern twang in his voice when he sang.

"And I can't take the cold."

She opened her eyes. She seemed to open the door to memories as well.

----

The demon was coming at her again. She jumped up, grabbed the pipe that ran across the width of the alley, and waited until the demon was below her. Then she wrapped her legs around its head and twisted. There was an audible crunch as its neck snapped. As it fell, she dropped back down, landing easily on her feet. She tossed her bangs back from her eyes and turned. She blinked; finally having a good look at the stranger she'd just saved from the demon. She blinked again.

----

"Street littered with diamonds," she sang the beginning of her part; "Everyone's glistening." Her voice was pretty; people had told her she sounded like Dido.

----

"You know how dangerous it is out here at night?" Max demanded, not able to think of anything else to say to the handsome stranger.

"If I didn't before, I do now," he replied, studying the light claw marks on his arm.

She gazed at him a moment. "Have we met before?"

----

"This whole world shine so brightly," then she lowered her voice, "And I can't see a thing." She closed her eyes again.

----

"Oh, that's right, you're that lawyer from Wolfram & Hart," Max said, suddenly remembering that, but not his name.

"Lindsey," he said, and then added almost like an after thought, "McDonald."

She let out a small snort of laughter, quickly raising a hand to her face to smother the sound.

"What, you think my name is funny?" he said with a raised eyebrow.

"No. No," she said seriously-she hoped she wasn't blushing-"Not at all." She cleared her throat, "My name's Maxamelia."

----

It was his turn to sing now.

"She's pretty as a picture, she is like a golden ring. Settles me with love and laughter," as he sang, he looked over at her, smiling a little.

She returned the smile.

"And I can't feel a thing," he continued, Max chiming in faintly.

Her mind shifted to another memory.

----

She was sitting in a bar, at the counter. She'd forgotten the name of the place; she'd been here for so long. She was drunk, and steadily growing worse. Her eyes were red too; she'd been crying.

"Maxamelia?" said a familiar voice to her left.

She turned her head. "Hey, it's the farmer," she said, not sounding like herself.

He made a face, "Are you drunk?" he asked.

"You be' I am, Linds," she replied, looking back down into her drink like it was enchanted.

----

'Linds' she laughed to herself-almost out loud-that had been when she first started calling him that. She blinked.

"The skies gonna open, people gonna pray and crawl. It's gonna rain down fire, it's gonna burn us all," they sand together, voices harmonizing.

----

"What happened?" Lindsey said, gently tugging the glass from her hands.

"Hey!" she protested with a frown.

"What happened?" he repeated.

She didn't answer at first. "Nothin'," she replied at last. In reality, she'd had a fight with Angel, about Lindsey; Angel hated him.

"You're not going to tell me?" he said.

"I did. I's nothin'," she said again. She stood, but then wobbled and started to fall.

He caught her. "If you're not going to tell me what's so terrible that you got drunk over it, at least let me take you home," he said.

"A. won't be happy," Max said.

----

How true that had been. A. had been royally ticked off.

"The skies gonna open," she sang.

"People gonna pray and sing," he continued.

"I can't feel a thing," they both crooned.

She looked out across the room, and noticed a figure in the corner.

----

"I don't give a damn," Lindsey said, holding her up as she tried to stand by herself.

"Well, in that case," she said, bleary eyed, "Alright."

"Knew you'd say yes. Now let's get you out of here," he said, starting to guide her towards the door.

"Lead the way," she said with a drunken giggle.

----

She squinted into the dark corner as Lindsey sang;

"She's pretty as a picture, she is like a golden ring," he had such a great voice.

She was a little surprised to see that the figure was Connor.

"Settles me with love and laughter, and I can't feel a thing," Max and Lindsey sang together.

She gave a slight wave to Connor. Even as she did so, her mind skipped to another memory.

----

They were running across the dark front lawn of her mansion. Thunder rumbled, threatening to let loose the promised rain. Max looked back over her shoulder. In the darkness, she couldn't see it anything was there.

"Come on," she said to Lindsey, "We're almost there."

"'Bout damn time," he replied, sounding a little out of breath.

They ran past the large stone fountain, reaching the front walk.

----

She saw Connor nod his head in acknowledgement. She hadn't known he was here.

"The skies gonna open," Max sang the beginning of the verse.

"People gonna pray and crawl," Lindsey continued, looking over at her.

"It's gonna rain down fire," she sang next, meeting his gaze.

Well it had, hadn't it?

"It's gonna burn us all," he finished the verse, not looking away from her beautiful green eyes.

----

They were upstairs now, in one of the large sitting rooms. The cool breeze had chilled them both, and so there was a fire lit in the oriental fireplace. She stood at the window, gazing worriedly out into the night as fat raindrops hit the window pane.

"I don't think they followed us," she said.

The 'they' she spoke of were demons that were out to kill them. They were still figuring out why. Or at least, Max was.

"Wouldn't think so," Lindsey said, "You ran like the devil was after us."

True, and she'd dragged him along too.

She turned from the window. "Just as bad," she said, walking over to where he sat on the couch in front of the crackling fireplace.

----

"The skies gonna open. People gonna pray and sing," they sang together, then their voices dropped, "I can't feel a thing."

She didn't blink, couldn't bring herself to look away from his gorgeous blue eyes. Nothing else in the room seemed to exist for a second.

----

She sat down beside him on the couch. They were quiet. After a moment, she turned to say something to him, and he raised a hand to her cheek, sliding his fingers around to the back of her head. He kissed her on the lips. A soft, shy kiss. Her heart began to pound. _Oh God._ At first, she started to draw back-Angel was her boyfriend, she shouldn't be-but did she still love-? Instead, she changed her mind and kissed him back, her head spinning. The little voice that was telling her she shouldn't be doing this went silent as a tingle started in her lips and spread across her body, all the way down to her toes.

----

"I can't feel…" they both concluded softly as the last chords of the guitar music echoed on the air.

As applause became the next sound, Max finally blinked, looking away from Lindsey.


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue

Four Months Later

The breeze was gentle and warm, and the cool sand was just right beneath her bare feet. Tendrils of her white-blonde hair swayed slightly around her face as birds flew overhead. The sun was setting, and it turned the sky to a rainbow of colors; reds, golds, pinks, purples. Max could see the mountain-actually a dormant volcano-on the next closest island, along with the gorgeous sunset as she faced Lindsey. Her hands were on top of his as they held them in between them. The scalloped hem of her white dress brushed against her ankles as the ends of the silk sash swayed in the breeze.

There was a wreath of red and pink hibiscus flowers around her head, and a leu of the same around her neck, nearly hiding the dipped, Southern style collar of her dress. The man standing to their right, facing them both, was speaking Hawaiian. There were two other people there as well. Seth stood off to one side, and Connor to the other. After a moment, Max responded in Hawaiian-the bit she'd been told. Then Lindsey responded. In unison, they slid gold wedding bands on the other's hand. There were symbols engraved on the bands, some form of ancient language, it seemed.

The man said something else in Hawaiian-a final blessing. The ceremony was over. Lindsey took Max in his arms, and kissed her. Then he spun her around.

"I love you," she whispered as her feet touched the sand again.

"I love you too, babe," he replied, kissing her again.

She turned to Seth first, and walked over to him. She whispered something in his ear, and he nodded. Then she kissed him on the cheek and walked over to Connor. She whispered something to him as well, and he smiled a little. She hugged him, and also kissed him on the cheek. Then she walked back to Lindsey. He took her hand, and led her over to the two horses. Her mount was a beautiful white mare, and his a chestnut brown stallion.

A moment later, they were both riding down the beach, the horses hooves kicking up clumps of sand as they went. The sun was setting faster now, and soon it would be dark. They reached a secluded alcove on the beach, and left the horses at the entrance. Near the steep cliff face, the sand gave way to lush, green grass.

"I can't believe we're really here," Max said softly. She didn't mean the alcove, or even Hawaii, she meant how far they'd come on this rocky road called life.

"I can," Lindsey replied, taking her hand in his.

She looked over at him as they walked. She raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she said, sounding somewhat skeptic. "Even when I had…" she didn't finish the sentence.

But he knew what she was thinking-literally. "Yes. Love is persistent," he replied.

She almost blushed a little. "So I've heard," she said after a moment.

He took her in his arms, spun her around, and laid her back gently on the grass. "The saying that love conquers all," he started.

"Can some times be very true," she finished.

For a moment, she looked up into his beautiful blue eyes.

'_Is everything really…over?'_

'_Not _everything_…'_

'_You know what I mean.'_

'_I do. Don't worry about all that now.'_

'_I don't want to. I want this all to be perfect.'_

She reached a hand up to the back of his head, fingers twining in his hair, and pulled him down to her. She closed her eyes as their lips met. She had been a lost sailor drowning in this rough ocean of life, and she'd found her lifeline. She knew he was thinking the same about her. . .

'This is not where our story ends, it is only the beginning, actually. But for those who have bared with me this far, this is where I leave you. For now.

Deeply,

Maxamelia McDonald'


End file.
